Minion: Twisted Upside-Down
by TechnoDee
Summary: Bandana Dee is a special waddle dee—almost everything about him is unique. And his quite-unique-ish life is about to get twisted upside-down or collapse like a carelessly built card castle. ... T for language and blood. Kind of.
1. Heatstroke

Twisted Upside-Down

Chapter One: Heatstroke

Location: Popstar

_"..."_

Bandana Dee was a normal waddle dee.

Except for the fact that he was the leader of them all.

"Arrange!" And the fact that he used a well-kept spear while others had spear with blunt tips. This was because he was free enough to sharpen his spear. To represent the fact that it was _his_, and it was _special_, he dug out a red strip of cloth from the depths of his drawers and tied it on his spear. No one else seemed to mimic this action and rendered that spear his. And special.

"March!" Then there was his blue bandana he had been attached to since birth. Waddle dees barely grew in their lifetime, so all Bandana Dee needed to do was to get one slightly loose bandana and it would last for his life. Well, his mother was smart enough to do that, at least. Again, it was a trait that no other waddle dee had. Not saying that all waddle dees were the same—some did have birthmarks here and there, scars, and things like that. But even the ones which had no special traits to be recognised by could be easily recognised by any other waddle dee; it was something waddle dees possessed—recognition in a group.

"Left!" Let's not forget Bandana Dee befriended an unnatural waddle doo named Freezer. Freezer was the child of a star warrior with similar abilities to Kirby's and a waddle doo. Strange things happened, and a normal waddle doo became twisted into a light blue waddle doo with purple feet, and a hat that was similar to Kirby's hat when he possessed the ice ability. He also wielded ice instead of electricity; again, he was _special_, because having a child between a star warrior and a waddle doo—a very rare combination at that time—was hardly found and Bandana Dee was very, very fortunate to have found such a thing.

"Right!" All three facts that have been stated above makes Bandana Dee special. A different spear, a bandana, and a very weird friend. (Who knew—Freezer could have been a one-of-a-kind species thing-thing.)

"Ack!"

"Leader Bandana Dee!"

"He fainted! He fainted!"

Bandana Dee froze and staggered to turn, feet weary from all the marching. He cleared his throat. "Who fainted?!" Fainting wasn't a rare occurrence while marching—and Bandana Dee didn't blame those who fainted, they must have had valid reasons.

At that two-word phrase, the waddle dees automatically separated into two groups to make a big enough line for a horse to go galloping in. It was something they were used to because it happened so much. Bandana Dee strode forward to the waddle dee that lay face-flat. Some waddle dees were crowded around him and shaking him and poking him but he wasn't waking up. Evidently.

"Flip him over and let him breathe!" A single waddle dee shot out a stub to flip the knocked out waddle dee over. Bandana Dee noticed him breathing and sighed in relief.

"Heatstroke?"

"It _is_ pretty warm!"

_Probably,_ Bandana Dee thought, listening to the cries of suggestion by his helpful comrades. "Freezer!" he yelled, whipping around to look through the crowd—which was easy, because most attending were waddle dees and waddle doos, all in the range of orange, and Freezer was a light blue. "I need you over!"

In one, swift, skating motion, Freezer was forming ice cubes around the waddle dee. Bandana Dee pointed at two waddle dees standing nearby. "You two inform the sick bay and get a gurney."

Briefly saluting, the two waddle dees scampered off across the rocky ground and hurried to the sick bay just a few minutes away. Bandana Dee let out a sigh, and watched Freezer stack frozen cubes around the waddle dee. All of the waddle dees formed a doughnut, making sure to keep a one meter radius away from them.

"I think that's enough ice cubes."

"Okay." Freezer nodded before skating backwards, ice forming at the ends of his feet as he glided smoothly on the rocky ground.

"Everyone is dismissed and is to report again in three hours for re-marching," Bandana Dee announced.

The same two waddle dees came back with the gurney and offered to take the waddle dee to the sick bay. Once they were gone, Bandana Dee watched Freezer freeze the ground around him for sheer entertainment, spinning around and taking a seat as he made an annoyed face.

"It's been so warm lately!" he complained, huffing. "And more people are fainting and we have to do _so_ much re-marching. It's so annoying! It's probably Hotbeat and 'that time of the year' thing all over again. I. Hate. It."

"You mean I don't find it irritating? It's absolutely awful, Freezer." Especially when he had to yell the commands. Freezer let out another huff before standing up and walking—not bothering to make the effort to skate—towards the dormitories. "Um, you're heading back?"

"Yup. That's what I always do after marching, remember?"

"Well, I was thinking of paying a visit to the king." Freezer froze in his tracks and turned to glare at Bandana Dee in the I-will-kill-you manner. "It's not about getting a raise! But about the weather. Um, recently."

"And what of it?" When Freezer adopted that tone, he was not pleased.

Bandana Dee dared to slap his forehead—he didn't. "It's been really warm and _everyone_ has been having heatstroke! And if this continues, the re-marching will eventually interfere with our schedule and we can't do other army stuff."

Freezer quirked his only brow. "Are you sure?"

"Actually, I'm quite uncertain about this outcome. But I'm doing it anyway."

"...Fine." Annoyed, Freezer padded after Bandana Dee. The waddle dee grinned. Freezer almost never left Bandana Dee alone, because Bandana Dee could be very reckless sometimes and Freezer was stronger than any ice-user in Castle Dedede, so Bandana Dee needed him a lot.

They took the shortcut lift to the throne room. Freezer hummed as Bandana Dee knocked on the door. "Bandana Dee and Freezer! Permission to enter?"

The stupid penguin probably didn't even know who they were, anyway. None of them particularly stood out. Not even the probably-one-of-a-kind Freezer. "Come in." And this was also why the security sucked so bad...

Bandana Dee pushed the double doors open without Freezer's help and walked up halfway the red carpet. He couldn't hear Freezer skating or walking behind him; it was natural, Freezer didn't like loud things.

"We request that you send some troops to investigate the planet Hotbeat," Freezer said automatically whilst kneeling down. Bandana Dee swiftly got down on one knee—it was a form of proper respect for the king which Bandana Dee never held.

"And why?" Dedede was eating snacks, as per normal.

"Because the weather has been terrible lately and we suspect it is Hotbeat, because the troops that check on the sun and moon daily have said that the sun's activities have been normal, and so have the moon's," Bandana Dee explained, feeling his right knee ache. He quickly switched his weight to his left knee.

"Oh, sure," Dedede said absentmindedly. "You two go, as the leaders, then."

"Well—" Bandana Dee could already tell Freezer was agreeing to go—he interrupted quickly.

"No, Freezer, you're staying."

"Why are _you_ making _my_ decisions?" Freezer sounded snarky. "If you guys get an even worse heatstroke I'll be there, at the very least. The other ice-users can't handle the heat at all. But I'll let you know I'm not a snowman and I won't melt in the heat, I just get very uncomfortable."

Bandana Dee turned to look at Freezer. The light blue waddle doo was tipping his head downwards and sending a very angry glare. "But you're weak to fire—"

"No, I'm not. I _use_ ice but I'm a waddle doo," Freezer said pointedly. "Fire doesn't hurt me the way it hurts snowmen. There's a difference. I'm _not_ weak to fire. Let. Me. Go."

"Fine. But I won't let you start complaining."

"I have the lowest body temperature, I think _you'll_ be the one complaining."

And then they set off and exited the door and took their first step into world danger.

* * *

**A/N:** Freezer was an idea from a friend, so.

This idea came out during science and I'm not very pleased with how the first chapter turned out, but I'm really not going to rewrite it unless absolutely necessary so shush. Hopefully chapter two is less... unpleasing.

There'll be more coming soon... I don't know, whenever I feel like. This _is_ my latest project, so most inspiration. Yesss. Thanks for reading.


	2. Departure

Twisted Upside-Down

Chapter Two: Departure

Location: Popstar

_"The one who can't keep her blazing inferno in."_

One week before they left to Hotbeat, and Bandana Dee, being the paranoid waddle dee he had been since birth, had finished packing. Freezer had finished packing, though Bandana Dee was not pleased he was coming along. Freezer brushed it off easily anyways, and continued duty as per normal. So did Bandana Dee, but he tried to hide his anxiety. He was bringing the slightly better troops with him because he was afraid the lesser troops couldn't handle Hotbeat. After all, out of all the planets, Hotbeat was the hardest to survive in. Things that were naturally born in Hotbeat usually weren't very bothered by the heat, so creatures still lingered there. But Bandana Dee wasn't from Hotbeat; he was from _Popstar_, which was the planet were _most_ things were born with a good heart.

_Most_ because there was still the issue of the ill-tempered king and some other cruel-minded things.

Bandana Dee nervously wrung his hands and watched Freezer casually skate along the ground. When he skated, he usually used fast-melting ice so it would disappear right after his foot glided on it. Freezer had once told Bandana Dee that it conserved energy, because forming ice was just a chain of thoughts that led to realism and formed ice. This took much less than a millisecond, and the ice blew out in an instant; the "chain of thoughts" was always unseen by any elemental user. But Freezer had been told it did happen.

"So what do you use the control the ice? I mean, you can't actually decide what you think. Is there a way to control it? Will it suddenly let loose all of a sudden?"

Freezer paused in his skating to spare him a glance before explaining. "Well, it depends on who you are. For me, if I throw a tantrum, it'll just be released in a flurry of livid thoughts. If I keep it cool, it'll be much easier to keep the frost in. But it's unique to every individual. This is just my way of controlling it. It's pretty easy, though. For me, at least."

"Oh, I see."

_What if we met a fire-user on Hotbeat?_ Bandana Dee wondered to himself. _What helps a fire-user to "control" their ability? Sheer rage, maybe?_

"Hey! What was that?!" Freezer's sudden yell snapped Bandana Dee out of his thoughts, and the waddle dee hastily glanced up to look at the said being. A silver tail was spotted bending round the corner, and Bandana Dee instinctively had his spear whipped out and kept things very quiet. Freezer lowered his eyelid threateningly, looking around. "It was a wolf, I think."

"A wolf. Great." Probably here to sneak a meal, and the said meal would have to be the fat penguin who resided on the top of the castle, on the twelfth level. Bandana Dee turned to face the other direction. "We're close to the entrance, we can't miss it."

The wolf did not appear for a few minutes. Bandana Dee knew better than to lower his spear. He could feel the temperature around him drop. Ice crystals were gathering around Freezer, and they were both extremely wary of their surroundings. Bandana Dee shifted slightly, then stiffened when he heard something like scratching. He turned to look at Freezer, but the light blue waddle doo was completely still.

And then... more scratching. More, and more, and more, and more. It sounded awful, and Bandana Dee then recognised it as the castle walls being scratched. And the castle walls were made out of expensive material. Glaring around, Bandana Dee re-gripped his spear, and swallowed hard, and heard the familiar scratching, and hissed. Freezer gave him a look to shut up, and when Bandana Dee turned to face him fully, he saw a claw positioned at the top of the castle wall. He gawked, before he realised what the scratching had been—climbing.

"_Wolf_!" Bandana Dee yelled, pointing his spear at the claw. Freezer immediately sent his frozen crystals flying towards the wolf, but the wolf saw them coming and dodged. It climbed on top of the castle wall and ran along it, and Bandana Dee froze helplessly as Freezer attempted to hit it. Long-ranged attacks were not his thing, or he would lose his precious—special—spear. "Guards!" he shrieked, and that was the only thing he could do.

The wolf eventually reached a window that led into the castle. It was agile enough to dodge Freezer's attacks, and Bandana Dee's best friend was losing his own cool. The window, Bandana Dee realised, was too small for the wolf to creep in.

And then, out of nowhere, the wolf morphed into a silver—almost white, but not quite—puffball with black feet and cheeks. It tore through the window and a loud scream echoing after it, and Bandana Dee then realised it was actually—

"Ack! Bandana Dee, after the werewolf!"

—yes, a werewolf, that's what he was going to say. A female to top it off, judging by its voice. It could just have been a high-pitched male, though.

"I-I got it!" Bandana Dee thundered after Freezer who was gliding towards the door and flung it open. They ran through the hallway to find many weakened waddle dees—none unconscious. The werewolf had probably merely knocked and shoved them aside and carried on its journey to—

—where _was_ it going? Now that Bandana Dee knew it wasn't just a _wolf_, but a _werewolf_, he now found himself questioning again. Werewolves usually never went to the extreme when hunting, and there was no sign of any endangerment in the forest where they resided. They usually never stepped out of their territory. They were extremely cautious creatures and avoided trouble if possible.

They were now at the fifth floor. Bandana Dee saw more weakened, running waddle dees. He knew that they had no hope against it—Freezer, who could perform flash-freezes, couldn't even land a hit. What chance did they have?

"Everyone, _stay back_!" he yelled. "As the commander of the waddle dees, I order you all to stay back! We will handle this!"

They were confused, but stopped nonetheless. They were weak, but obedient and cooperative, which allowed them to succeed in battles. Not this one, though. Bandana Dee froze when he noticed Sailor Dee's door was open. The quiet waddle dee preferred to keep to himself and always had it closed. They were leaving for Hotbeat, and he was piloting the ship, too.

The werewolf, in wolf form, suddenly skidded out of Sailor Dee's room. No signs of blood was seen, but the werewolf curiously blinked at them, and the most surprising thing happened to Bandana Dee next.

_"I don't want to hurt you."_

Bandana Dee blinked. _What?_ Was that the werewolf? ...What else would it be? But why could he hear her? Freezer looked plain menacing, so he couldn't have heard it. _Why_ was Bandana Dee hearing this? He squinted as he heard more gabbling.

_"Sailor Dee—Hotbeat—Uncontrollable, hot lava—Burning inferno—The Unmovable—Go."_

Now it was just a confused gibberish that Bandana Dee could hardly hear. He rested a hand on Freezer's head, a silent command to stop, and Freezer didn't send his ice crystals flying but glowered at Bandana Dee, annoyed. Bandana Dee heard one last phrase.

_"Find the one who can't keep her blazing inferno in."_

And then she blew up the wall next to her and leapt out.

* * *

"My men are falling to _boulders_? How is this even possible?!" Bandana Dee yelled, outraged. The incident of the werewolf always lingered on his mind, but he ignored it. He told it to Freezer, and Freezer told him to stay calm and see if the werewolf appeared again. It hadn't, and it was the day they left to Hotbeat to check things out—when Bandana Dee got a message that they were stuck trying to remove a boulder.

"It's very slippery, and is indestructible." The waddle dee tipped his head downwards shamefully. "We tried getting bronto burts above it, but they can't fly near those boulders. We can't get past the boulders because they go through the thick trees and reach all the way to the mountain sides. I'm sorry, there isn't anything we can do."

"These boulders... What are they, huh?" A part of the werewolf's speech flashed back to him—_"The Unmovable"_—and pondered on it briefly, but his question was soon answered.

"They're the Unmovable." Sailor Dee, who was in complete perfect shape, said. He didn't seem to know anything about the werewolf incident—he _was_ out preparing ships. "They cannot be passed until a certain action has been done."

"What _action_?"

Sailor Dee shrugged. "I'm not very sure. Things get very complicated. It could be anything on Popstar... or even, _not_ on Popstar. It's very strange. Fate will decide it all, anyway. It's okay."

Bandana Dee scowled. "So we leave it here?"

"We cannot do anything else. That aside, the reason I have come to find you is because the ship will be leaving in an hour and you should be settled in as early as possible. Freezer is already at his seat, if you needed to know. Do you need to be guided there?"

Bandana Dee hesitated, before glancing at the waddle dees. "Find another place to explore. Abandon this site for now, we'll come back to it when I'm back." He then turned to Sailor Dee. "C'mon, then, let's get to the ship."

* * *

**A/N:** Wolfwrath/Chilidog and _wolves_—two completely different things. So what did that wolf look like? Oh, you know, the average silver wolf that's around. Silver could be replaced with grey, but silver sounds... dunno, prettier. Or I'm just being obnoxious. Again.


	3. Suspicion

Minion: Twisted Upside-Down

Chapter Three: Suspicion

Location: Ship

_"The one who can't keep her blazing inferno in."_

* * *

"You're not going back, right?" Bandana Dee asked again, settling into a seat uneasily. The ship hadn't taken off yet, but it would very soon. He wanted to give Freezer a final chance to leave. Hotbeat just wasn't a place for ice-users.

"For the last time, Bandana Dee," Freezer said impatiently, "I'm not a snowman." He'd said that constantly to Bandana Dee, but the leader of Waddle Dees never quite computed the message fully. He always thought something was amiss, something was out of place. Freezer had to assure him so many times. Bandana Dee wondered why his best friend never got annoyed over him. Speaking of which, he asked him that then.

"Don't you find me annoying?" Bandana Dee questioned, feeling the ship's engine roaring to life, ship vibrating ominously (to him, at least). Freezer took a sip of water, shaking his head simultaneously. It surprised Bandana Dee.

"No, someone has to do your mothering." That explained a lot. Freezer set the cup down, jumping off the seat and skating around the small room they were given to share. "You're usually getting into trouble with the heat. To be honest, I didn't want _you_ to go. I'd bet my life savings you're going to complain about the heat once we get there, right? You've never liked the heat," Freezer reasoned, freezing the floor in front of Bandana Dee. The Waddle Dee yelped and shifted backwards uncomfortably. "And you've never liked the cold, either. You're weird; you like the in-between."

Bandana Dee shrugged. "Is that so wrong?"

Freezer didn't reply. Bandana Dee sighed and got up, feet daintily moving against the solid ice. He squinted, before moving uneasily along the ice. Suddenly, the ice cracked and dissipated into sparkling dust. He gasped, tripped over his own feet, falling when he heard a whooshing sound, and fell into a pile of snow instead. It disappeared bit by bit and gave Bandana Dee a safe landing. He stared at where Freezer held up his stubs and maintained the snow he had just produced and sighed as he sat down.

Eventually, the Waddle Dee sat down, too. He decided ice skating wasn't his thing. A lot of things weren't his things, sadly. He'd never actually found something he enjoyed doing and could do it well. He wondered if he would be able to find that something one day as he stared out of the window and daydreamed, creating a reality no one knew about except for him.

The door knocked. It surprised Bandana Dee, to say the least. In a flash, before Bandana Dee could regain his composure, Freezer was at the door and opening it. Bandana Dee expected something horrifying, and for a moment, he felt something surge through himself, something unrecognisable, and flinched. To his utter surprise, Sailor Dee stood at the door, standing in such a position it looked like childish innocence to Bandana Dee. He uncurled from where he was curling up in his seat and watched Freezer speak to Sailor Dee. And for a moment, he couldn't hear anything.

Anything but the ominous noises roaring at the back of his mind, he corrected. For a split second, time froze before him, and fear swallowed him up. A blurry image of a red circle appeared before him, and then disappeared. And then, all of a sudden, reality continued normally. Freezer seemed to be slightly surprised. Probably by what something Sailor Dee said, Bandana Dee guessed. He carefully arose from his seat and grinned uneasily.

"...Hi, Sailor Dee." He really had nothing else to say. He wasn't sure what to say, anyway. He was scared he'd say the wrong thing—no, more of he was scared the time-stopping action would repeat itself all over again.

"Oh, hello!" Sailor Dee was beaming. Freezer appeared a bit more cautious, a bit more wary—Bandana Dee briefly wondered if he'd experienced the same thing as him. "How are you feeling, Bandana Dee? You look quite pale."

"Quite pale", that was an understatement. Bandana Dee would have doubled over and thrown up right then, but he didn't. Bandana Dee only smiled loosely. "Oh, I'm okay. I just... um, had a bit of a nightmare yesterday. I'm fine, though."

Sailor Dee chuckled. "Of course it's nothing, yes? What good would it be if the very leader of the Waddle Dees fell? It wouldn't do any good, yes?"

His tone, for some reason, irked Bandana Dee. "Oh, um... no, it wouldn't be good at all." Bandana Dee gave Freezer a long look, and Freezer returned it with a blank stare. "I, um... don't feel very good. I might just take a rest for the rest of the trip to Hotbeat, if you don't mind?"

"But there's so much to do!" Freezer exclaimed, smiling. "You can't sleep the entire journey. We'll explore the ship... if that's okay with you. I mean, if you're just... if you're just... um, scared of..."

Silence met his words, and Bandana Dee took it. He sighed as he nodded, and then finally spoke. "I get it... We'll explore the ship." Together, he wanted to add. He was too scared that he was going to have the same thing occurring to him. Freezer smiled back at him, as if trying to reassure him. It didn't work, of course. But Bandana Dee smiled back anyway.

Sailor Dee laughed. "Of course, the ship. You await to see the ship, yes? Well, all the preparations have been made. You may wander around now, of your own free will. Just remember not to disturb me during my break hours."

"Why not?" Freezer asked placidly. Bandana Dee would have asked the same question, but he didn't like repeating the same thing, so he nodded to show his agreement.

"Oh, I don't like being disturbed when it's my rest..." Sailor Dee trailed off before smiling. "You'll enjoy the ship with or without me, I'm sure."

Bandana Dee's suspicion began. Sailor Dee wasn't acting like himself... Did Sailor Dee have anything to do with what happened to Bandana Dee just now? It almost seemed as if time stopped again, but he saw Freezer blinking and heaved a sigh, relieved. Sailor Dee tilted his head innocently, and Freezer smiled, confused. It was almost as if both of them felt the urge to comfort and reassure Bandana Dee, even if they didn't know what had happened.

After a while of doubt, Bandana Dee nodded slowly. "I'm sure, too."

With a beam, Sailor Dee turned and left. Freezer and Bandana Dee were left in silence. Bandana Dee then spoke up, nervously.

"Um... did time stop on your side, by any chance?" Bandana Dee asked timidly. An expression of shock crossed Freezer's face, before it morphed into confusion and then Freezer shook his head. Bandana Dee's heart sunk. So it had only happened to him, then.

"...No... I don't... believe so..." Freezer replied hesitantly. Bandana Dee was about to speak when Freezer cut him off. "Did time really stop on your end..? I'm sure you were imagining things, right? You're quite the daydreamer."

"_Daydreamer_? Excuse me?" Bandana Dee, offended, shook his head. "I'm not a daydreamer, I just think of a world without imperfections!"

"That's generally the same thing, right?" The serious mood had lifted like heated air and replaced with a lighter, joking one. "Anyways, we're going to go explore the ship, _right_? I heard there's a cafe! I wanna drink my cold tea!"

"Do they even sell cold tea?" Bandana Dee asked in a snippy manner, before covering where his mouth should be. "I—I mean, uh... D-Do they sell c-cold t-tea? La-Last I checked, s-some didn't..."

Freezer, taken aback, stared at Bandana Dee for a moment, before nodding. "Um, yeah, sure... Some don't sell cold tea, but I can always make ice cubes and add them in, right?"

"R-Right."

As they walked out of their dormitory, double-checking they had their keys, closing the door, Bandana Dee wondered why he had snapped at Freezer for no reason at all. Freezer hadn't even said anything offensive enough to annoy Bandana Dee. The light blue Waddle Doo was, however, completely unfazed and continued to skip and chat on and on about random, weird things like how if a bird laid eggs on a tree made of some sort of special ice, the eggs would hatch to early and the chicks would either die or be premature. Bandana Dee wasn't really listening, anyway. He only responded with small sounds.

It really bothered him when time literally came to a standstill, and why Sailor Dee had told them specifically not to bother him during his break hours. He sighed and continued walking. Things had gone hectic because of a silly heatstroke, and now they were on their way to Hotbeat, and the rest of the army—the minions—had been dreadfully left behind. He also could not get the image of the blurred puffball out of his mind.

_Great. Stupid Hotbeat, look what you've done to my life._

_And I'm going to have to fix my life, not you, you stupid ball of heat._

* * *

**A/N:** Ah, yeah. The More the Merrier is now on a hiatus again, so I may as well update this one...

I'm also not sure if this means regular updates, though. I'm not sure if this one actually means anything to begin with.

We'll see.

Maybe.


	4. Eternal Snow on Fire

Minion: Twisted Upside-Down

Chapter Four: Eternal Snow on Fire

Location: Ship

___"The one who can't keep her blazing inferno in."_

* * *

_"Hey, what d'you think you're doing?"_

_Criticising jade eyes glared accusingly at her._

_"Oh, um—nothing..?"_

_"Nothin', huh? Well, you know what you're doing, honey?"_

_A claw reached out and tilted her chin upwards._

_"You're intruding into **our** territory, you know? Hmm, are you trying to make a statement of sorts, by any chance?"_

No. Shut up. Leave me alone.

_"No, but—"_

_"D'you know what we're gonna do?"_

Yes. Of course. You've done this so many times. Disgustingly predictable. Nothing new. Leave. Me. Alone!

_A few yelps resounded. Her eyes watered. The thing in front of her—she couldn't call it species anymore—wiped the blood off on the ground._

Oh, you wanna get ugly? Let's get ugly!

_The burning inferno ripped, shredded their lives to zero._

* * *

The werewolf, the Unmovable, the suspicion of Sailor Dee...

Bandana Dee couldn't help but feel there was a link between them—but _what_ link? The werewolf had only told him _one_ thing—_"find the one who can't keep her blazing inferno in"_—and almost nothing about the Unmovable, and he didn't know if Sailor Dee was just in his moods. How would he link them with so little knowledge? Unbelievable.

Furthermore, no one else was like him. Freezer, who had been with him for the entire time, was perfectly fine, play-it-cool, just like always. Bandana Dee sometimes wished he was Freezer—sometimes not. And ice-using abilities? It sounded awfully exciting! Too bad he was born a normal Waddle Dee... Otherwise, he'd probably be having the time of his life just freezing over people randomly. It wasn't a very nice action, and he would probably be looked down on for it, but Bandana Dee always set his priorities. And the ones revolving around himself were branded with a _first_ position.

"What would you do if you fell?" Sailor Dee suddenly asked. Bandana Dee looked up from where he was reading a book. Sailor Dee sat across the table with a cunning grin. "What if you fell right now? What would you do? Would anyone try to save you?"

"Freezer," Bandana Dee replied, remembering the earlier events where he had fallen whilst trying to skate on the ice, and Freezer had conjured a pile of snow to save his sorry face. "He'd help. He always does. He helps if he can." Unlike Bandana Dee, Freezer liked to help others, rather than thinking about himself all the time. An honest thought, though.

"Ah."

"...What would you do?" Thinking of this as another odd question, Bandana Dee offered Sailor Dee a wry smile—it meant his trust level depleted down to negative thousand. Sailor Dee returned it with a beam of his.

"I can't stop my fall," Sailor Dee replied, "so I'll pick myself up after the fall, continue walking, you know? What's there to do if you fall? Will crying achieve anything?"

"Yeah," Bandana Dee replied scornfully, "if your tears are made of magical substances and can heal your injured area, that is. Not everyone has it." No one did, as far as Bandana Dee knew, and it wasn't possible, either. Or at least, that's what he thought. When he daydreamed, it was possible.

Sailor Dee furrowed his brows, but the smile was still plastered on. "Oh..? You have tears made of magical substances, then?" An innocent, quizzical tone. Bandana Dee looked down sheepishly.

"...No, but I—"

"Exactly," Sailor Dee replied, standing up. "I've got to go help out in controlling the ship now, if you don't mind. I'll see you later, Bandana Dee. And don't forget to stick around with Freezer, because—" He paused, hand hovering over the doorknob, seemingly picking his words. After a quiet moment, he continued, "Because you're gonna fall, with your clumsiness."

_Thanks._

Bandana Dee rolled his eyes at his own sarcastic mental comment and nodded briefly before Sailor Dee left. Freezer arrived back in the dormitory about an hour later, and for a moment, he saw Freezer staring blankly into space. He frowned. Freezer _never_ paused to rethink things over... _"My brain always hurts whenever I think—"_, that was what he had told Bandana Dee. Grinning, Bandana Dee leapt at his chance.

"Daydreamer!" he exclaimed, poking Freezer's eye. Freezer yelped, falling over backwards before glaring accusingly at him. Bandana Dee continued grinning at Freezer's sharp glare—it always happened, anyway. "Whatcha thinking about?"

"We're near Hotbeat," Freezer replied, folding his arms. "And you know, when I passed by Sailor Dee, he seemed really anxious. And d'you know what he told me?"

"Er, we ran out of ice-cream?" Did that even exist on the ship?

"He told me we 'ran out of energy'." Freezer sighed. "He's not talking properly, but what he meant is, we have to land _very_ soon if we're gonna make it to Hotbeat. So buckle your seat-belts, we're—"

A roaring sound from the back of the ship echoed, and Bandana Dee was under the table in a minute. Time came to another standstill—_"hey"_—_"get lost"_—_"leave"_—_"you're not welcome"_—what were those voices, now? Time moved once again as Freezer rolled down the tilted floor and crashed into the wall, letting out a brief yelp and before Bandana Dee knew it, he was rolling down, too.

"_Ack_!" Releasing a jet of snow, Freezer nearly caught Bandana Dee, but the most unexpected event happened next—

The floor underneath them fell apart—

Bandana Dee was falling—

"_Bandana Dee_!"

Hearing his own name snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked down in sheer panic—Hotbeat was _right_ under them. He noticed a piece of land they were likely to land on, but not big enough for the ship—

And then a flurry of snow shot out from above Bandana Dee, and he swiped away the snow from his face—_snow_? Freezer was above him? Why was he shooting snow in Bandana Dee's face—?

Then he fell into said pile of snow on Hotbeat.

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter makes no sense.

Many things won't.


	5. Standing Up

Minion: Twisted Upside-Down

Chapter Five: Standing Up

Location: Hotbeat

___"The one who can't keep her blazing inferno in."_

* * *

_Hushed whispers were heard around her as they scattered away at least three meters from her._

_"Hey, what's she doing here now?" Her jaw clenched; even if the killer of those snotty brats—her—was unidentified—no one ever paid attention to her—she still thought they would've been terrified of her because they died of being burned. Alive. Well, she was the only one who knew they burned alive. She didn't tell anyone anything._

_"Cassy's always there," another girl snorted, using her nickname mockingly. "Like, always. 'Cause she has nowhere else to go. Her parents abandoned her, because she's just too..." Apparently deciding the final word was incredibly difficult for unknown reasons, so the girl shrugged it off and said, "Too disgusting, you know?"_

_She—Cassy, her nickname, it was disgusting, **real** disgusting, especially when **they** used it—gripped the rock that she had found tight and exhaled softly. She stood up, turning around and plodded towards them._

_"H-Hey!" the ringleader—she assumed—yelped. Another girl. Girls. So many of them were just so downright **bitchy**, she mentally snarled. "W-What are you d-doing here?"_

_"...I'm standing here," she replied quietly, nodding firmly. "Is that not obvious?"_

_"D-Don't try to act smart!"_

_"I'm not..." she trailed off, then sighed, dropping the rock as she spun on her heel and turned the other way. "I wasn't trying to act smart in any way," she muttered, silently provoked, flames licking at her heel for an unknown reason. Maybe it was because of her forever-crackling anger. It didn't matter why, anyway; they all died.  
_

* * *

"Ptoof," Bandana Dee coughed, spitting out the snow that had somehow migrated into his mouth unintentionally. "Freezer, you dead there?"

"Mmph," Freezer replied, absorbing back all the snow. "Yeah, I'm fine." Taking a quick glance around their surroundings, he continued, "Doesn't look like anyone else landed here with us, right?"

"...I hope not." The snow lump hadn't been big enough to cover the entire piece of land they stood on. "It's really, _really_ warm. This is kinda—" He halted in his sentence, eyes widening as he whipped round and round and poked his back. "Oh my god! Is my spear there, Freezer? _Please_ say it is!"

Freezer stood there, as if rooted to the ground, before shaking his head. "Uh, nope," he mumbled quickly, "it's not there—I _swear_ it isn't. You can take a look." Freezing the ground around Bandana Dee, Freezer watched him as he looked at his reflection in horror. "Sorry. Maybe it's still on the ship, y'know. Speaking of the ship and the crew, did you bring your, um... cellphone?"

Oh, _that_ stupid annoying thing which Bandana Dee despised. Too many buttons. "No," he muttered, "I _never_ get round using it, all the time. Even if I bring it. There's probably crappy or no signal over here anyway. You didn't brings yours, right?"

"No," Freezer sighed, looking around once again. "There's a small pathway up ahead. Be careful not to drop into the lava. It's pretty narrow. I think."

"Mm-hm." Bandana Dee strode over to said narrow pathway and looked down at it—yeah, it _was_ narrow. Just big enough to fit him. He carefully walked across, looking in front of him simultaneously. Freezer was behind him, and apparently wasn't skating—skating on _such_ a narrow pathway was just about ordering a one-way ticket to your death. Bandana Dee scooted on, ignoring all those stupid questions which arose in his head. Freezer couldn't answer them, anyway. They'd have to find a native and ask if they'd seen a ship crash onto Hotbeat. If they were friendly, that is. If they weren't, Freezer had full Bandana Dee-sanctioned permission to beat them up.

"Anything up ahead?" Freezer's cautious voice called out from behind Bandana Dee. He shook his head.

"Nothing that I can see. The land gets wider, so—_ah crap_!"

The ground cracked underneath him just as he danced out of that spot. Unfortunately, it caused two very problematic things: Bandana Dee stumbled and fell, but managed to get hold of the edge of the pathway, and Freezer walked on that cracked spot because it was too late to react. Freezer froze the ground underneath him, but it just kept melting, though it did turn into water, but that didn't help much. He kept at it constantly until Bandana Dee found strength in his feet—and hands. Yes, hands. They played the key role in his attempt to get up.

"I'm gonna drop off," Bandana Dee said pessimistically.

"Please don't," Freezer warned. "That'd mean the end of both of us. I can't keep the ice up forever."

"Skate away immediately when you get up."

"I _never_ get to the same level as the pathway, don't be stupid."

They were having a relatively casual conversation for their current situation: their lives dancing on the cliff of death, that was. Bandana Dee grimaced, then swung himself to the right with a harsh force, and while it _did_ let his right foot latch onto the edge, he was stuck in a horizontal—_uncomfortable_—position. He used his hand and his foot that was on the edge to pull himself back up, heaving a sigh of relief when he did. Well, that went well. His life wasn't risked now. Unless the ground cracked under _him_. He wasn't like Freezer who could save himself temporarily.

"Don't ditch your best friend while daydreaming!" Freezer's snappish voice yelled. Bandana Dee blinked once, twice, then scrambled over quickly. He leaned forward and pulled Freezer up, and once he did, they stared at each other for a long while. "I want to ditch this pathway. Badly."

"There isn't any alternative," Bandana Dee reminded him. "We'll have to take this way and be extra extra careful."

They continued walking. Bandana Dee wished this stupid pathway would just grow more space and not crack. Thankfully, they reached a safe, wide area soon enough. Freezer collapsed onto the ground and mumbled about how he was "traumatised". "It wasn't that bad!" Bandana Dee said stubbornly.

"Yes, it was!" Freezer protested indignantly. "I swear, if I'm _ever_ near lava—_that_ near—I will chop off my eyeball and throw it into the mountains. Even if I'm alive."

"Well, if you're dead, you can't do it, right?" They'd been acting very... uncharacteristic ever since the start of the trip. Freezer was getting really jumpy, and Bandana Dee was just not himself—cutting remarks and slightly more energetic attitude. It was all really weird. "Well, see any natives?"

"Apart from the burning leo behind your back, no," Freezer replied, sighing. Bandana Dee turned, and flinched when he saw the burning leo.

"Oh, um, you a native round these parts?" Bandana Dee asked carefully, hoping desperately it was a friendly thing.

"Yep," the burning leo replied, nodding. "Y'newbies 'ere or somethin'?"

Freezer smiled, but it was forced and simply underlining a sinister attitude. "Crash-landed, actually. We're quite the unfortunate ones." Then, quickly adding before the burning leo could say anything, he said, "Hey, weather's nice, hm?"

The burning leo nodded. "_Really_ nice and warm. Fantastic for a battle, y'know. Where's ya ship?"

Bandana Dee's face darkened. "Oh, you don't know?"

"Seen none the entire day, m'afraid," the burning leo replied airily. "Went to challenge the Mistress, s'all."

"'Mistress'?"

"Uh, yeah. Unintentional leader of Hotbeat an' everythin'." The burning leo sighed. "Everyone's been tryin' ta defeat 'er in battle, but she doesn't go down easily. Sucks. Big time. Probably knows 'bout ya ship an' all. She knows everythin' 'bout Hotbeat. But I probably know more than 'er—"

"Oh, sure," Freezer cut in, obviously not willing to listen to the upcoming bragging. "Thank you ever so much, mister. We're sorry to trouble you. Let's go, Bandana Dee."

After Bandana Dee considered it out of earshot, he growled. "He was getting on my nerves. Especially with that accent and _uncaring_ attitude."

"Hey, don't snap," Freezer reminded him. "We need to stay calm in situations like this. Snapping won't help. And it's not 'you', either. Hopefully you won't be too ill-tempered when we get home."

"I'm not ill-tempered!" He was, he just wouldn't admit; and he did dearly hope he wouldn't be like that when he returned home.

_If_ they ever did, that is.

* * *

**A/N:** Is boring update.

As a quick summary, there's another odd stupid italic section with meanings of to-be-told-in-the-future, Freezer is deathly afraid of lava, and Bandana Dee despises people with a strange accent.


End file.
